Icy drops on Nandina . . .

the ice is really pretty but also quite scary! just had to put salt on the path from the back door and the steps to the front door! there is an inch of ice on my garden table too!

Scary - yes! We have an inch of snow, but OH cleared our drive yesterday. I don't mind driving, but hate walking on the stuff . . . yesterday I used a walking stick!!

I dont blame you ~ i think we will all be on sticks by the end of this winter at this rate! those walking poles are looking mightily attractive right now!

other than that i wish i had wings like a bird so i could take off and fly over the ice! did you see winter watch last night?

Yes Sticki, caught the last bit with the seals, weren't the babies gorgous, and how the mother tickled them with her long claws anad encouraged it to feed. Have been to Blakeney many times, have never been out on a boat tho.Thats the only way to see them so next time maybe a boat trip!
Lovely pic. Sheila, free fairy lights:-)

never been to Blakeney, one day I shall go, but I have seen the seals off the Hebrides ~ they seem to enjoy a very lazy life!

Thanks Gralew! I obviously missed a good winter programme . . .

Right now, some of those spiky things that you can attach to your boots to make walking on ice easier are looking very attractive. I wish now I'd sent off for some back in the autumn.

I wonder how well they work?! I don't know anyone who's tried them, but they sound a great idea.

My sister-in-law has got some and swears by them - she goes skiing a lot, and they're good for walking on packed snow. I'm sure they'd be good on ice, too. I'm not sure exactly which kind she's got, because some of them have little spikes on and others have stretched springs. I think I'll have a look on Amazon.

Wish I still went skiing a lot . . . :(

Never have ski-ed, too much of a wuss! When I was young, we couldn't afford to do things like that, and now I'm scared of breaking things. I'd rather do less challenging things. I've always quite fancied white water rafting, if I don't think too hard about it, but I'm not sure I'd be so enthusiastic if the opportunity REALLY presented itself.

I learnt to ice-skate as a teenager, Gattina, so when I went to live in Geneva in my early twenties, skiing didn't seem too scary. I was lucky enough to be able to go up the mountains with a coach-load from work, to a different place each weekend, and loved it!

the postmen have those chains put on their shoes ~ my postman said they were good

Lovely picture! Just looking out of the window at the ever- increasing snowflakes. We're hoping to get up to Glasgow tomorrow. Hmm...

Sticki - OH and I each have a pair of Yaktraks. They fix very easily onto shoes and boots, and have wires like springs (horizontal, I hasten to add!) on the soles and heels. They are BRILLIANT and make walking on snow and ice a doddle. They must be taken off before you go indoors though, because they would be lethal on a smooth floor.

where do you get the yaktraks please melchi?

i have seen some little upside down nails in a rubber skeleton of a shoe type idea in the garden centres but wasnt sure about them

I think I got them online. They are available in sports and camping shops, but they sell out quickly when the weather gets wintry. They are not the cheapest, but I can certainly recommend them - I can skip along in them! They are just for snow and ice though - they could be dangerous if the surface is smooth. I have to remove them if I go into a shop. You can walk on cleared pavements in them, but it wouldn't be very good for them to do that too much.

thank you ~ i might look out for them ~ i know everywhere sold out of stuff like that 2 years ago ~ mostly because we all leave it till the last minute!

Amazon again, Sticki - I've just looked, and there still seem to be some available.

ah, i thought they might have them ~ thanks gattina, i think they had them before but they aren't cheap, i expect you get what you pay for and they will be worth it ~ i hate the feeling that i might fall over.

There are still some in our local GC Sticki - perhaps because they're £13.99! A friend was going to get some as a stocking-filler for her daughter, but balked at the price . . . it's probably worth it, because I guess they last for years(?).

eeeeeeeeeek ~ thats a lot of money!

but i dont know why i think that ~ i would pay quite a lot more for boots to walk in!

stocking fillers seem to cover a huge range of prices ~ i thought they were below £5 but i have seen and heard people spending £30 or more on one present to put in the stocking ~ and that wouldnt have filled it up!

what would Tiny Tim or Bob Cratchet say to that???

I'd rather have a goose?:-)

Im sure you are right BA

:-) Forgot to say very pretty pic Sheila:-)

Thanks Ba . . . and good Cratchet comment!